Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Columns and Caryatids: 1. The Wife" by Carolyn Kizer is a profound and evocative reflection on the biblical figure of Lot's wife, who, according to the Book of Genesis, was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the burning cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Kizer's poem delves into the transformation and fate of Lot's wife, using rich imagery and a poignant tone to explore themes of loss, punishment, and the relentless passage of time.

The poem begins with a powerful declaration from Lot's wife: "I am Lot's pillar, caught in turning, / Bellowing, resistant, burning / With brine." This opening sets the stage for her metamorphosis, capturing the moment of transformation with vivid intensity. The use of the word "bellowing" suggests a deep anguish and protest, while "resistant, burning / With brine" evokes the physical and emotional agony of being turned into a salt pillar.

Kizer's imagery is strikingly visual and tactile, emphasizing the harshness of Lot's wife's new form. "Fine robes laced with sand, / Solid, soon to be hollowed by tongues of kine" conveys both the dignity and the degradation of her transformation. The fine robes, now interwoven with sand, symbolize her former life and status, while the mention of cattle licking her hollowed form underscores her reduction to a mere object in the landscape.

The poem then shifts to describe her new existence: "Solid, solitary salt lick, she / Is soon to be shaped by wind, abstracted, / Smoothed to a sex-shape only." Here, Kizer highlights the inevitability of erosion, both physical and symbolic. Lot's wife, once a person with agency and identity, is now being molded by external forces into an abstract, almost dehumanized form. The phrase "sex-shape only" suggests a reduction to mere physicality, stripped of individuality and complexity.

As the poem continues, the imagery becomes even more poignant: "Large and lonely in the plain, / Rain melting her slowly. / So proud shoulder dips with compliance / Never in life." The gradual melting by rain symbolizes the slow passage of time and the erosion of her former self. The "proud shoulder," once resistant, now succumbs to the elements, indicating a forced submission that she never exhibited in life. This speaks to the theme of divine punishment and the inexorable nature of fate.

Kizer further explores the idea of divine judgment with the lines "God's alliance with weather / Eroding her to a spar, a general grief-shape, / A cone, then an egg no bigger than a bead." The process of erosion is not just physical but also metaphysical, reducing Lot's wife to a symbol of grief and loss. The transformation from a "spar" to a "cone" to an "egg" symbolizes a return to a primal, undifferentiated state, highlighting the ultimate futility of resisting divine will.

The poem's final lines are deeply moving: "I saw Sodom bleed, Gomorrah smoke. / Empty sockets are a joke of that final vision. / Tongueless, I taste my own salt, taste / God's chastisement and derision." Here, Lot's wife reflects on her final, horrific vision of the destroyed cities. The "empty sockets" represent the hollowness and futility of witnessing such destruction. Her "tongueless" state emphasizes her powerlessness and inability to communicate her suffering, leaving her to "taste" her own salt and the bitterness of divine punishment.

"Columns and Caryatids: 1. The Wife" by Carolyn Kizer is a powerful meditation on the themes of transformation, punishment, and the inexorable forces of nature and divinity. Through vivid imagery and a deeply reflective tone, Kizer brings to life the tragic fate of Lot's wife, offering a poignant commentary on the human condition and the complexities of divine justice. The poem's exploration of identity, loss, and the passage of time resonates deeply, making it a compelling and thought-provoking piece.